


Of Espionage

by CrystalRebellion



Category: Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984)
Genre: Enemies Working Together, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Lotura - Freeform, Spies, Undercover, crime syndicate, forming trust, sneaky princess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-07-06 12:29:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15886083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalRebellion/pseuds/CrystalRebellion
Summary: When the supply of lazon vanishes without warning, all intelligence points to Cain DuBlois; the leader of a crime syndicate nestled in the heart of the Crimson Quadrant.  Allura realizes the only way to find out what happened to the essential fuel source is to slip undercover and search through their ranks.  The task should be fairly simple and low-risk - until her identity is jeopardized when a Drule prince shows up demanding answers of his own.





	1. Infiltration

Allura stared at herself in the dingy, grime-covered mirror of the run-down diner.

"There's no way," she whispered, the reflection staring back at her vacantly.  "There's no way this can possibly work..."  She frowned.  Her appearance looked nothing like what she was used to seeing; what once was hair the color of sunlight had been dyed a shade of ebony that rivaled midnight.  Green contact lenses converted her eyes to emeralds, leaving her looking wholly unlike herself.

"I barely look like me," she murmured aloud, brushing her fingertips across her cheekbones.  "...but that's exactly the point."  She frowned and exhaled, steeling her fluttering nerves.  She reached up and deftly braided her hair back, intentionally doing her hair in a manner that kept it from her eyes while also resembling not even a shadow of her usual hair bun.

"Illiya, reporting for duty," she murmured with a faint, nervous smile.  She glanced to her wristwatch and chewed on her bottom lip apprehensively.  _There's a reason it's you.  You're the only one who can do this, be brave._   She clasped her hands in front of her chest and bowed her head in a brief, prayer formation.  "Here we go," she murmured with finality.

With a gentle confidence she barely possessed, Allura walked out of the run-down rest stop.  She paused in the center of the room before settling into a booth.  She glanced around with a wide-eyed expression and took in the local population, surprised as how well she blended in.  Thugs and thieves comingled with women of ill repute and other transients.

Allura frowned, sliding further into the seat, letting her shoulder come to rest against the grime-slick window so her eyes could skim the room without leaving her back exposed.  As a woman of highborn upbringing, the underbelly of civilization was something she had only heard fantastical stories of.  Seeing it in person was daunting and alarming.

_I’d feel better if Keith were here,_ she thought sadly.

Her black and grey fatigues ended in rough and worn combat boots and her long-sleeved, black top fitted around her torso.  Flanked with the ebony locks, she looked nothing like the famed Arusian princess, and as such, no one tossed her a second look.

She kicked her boots one over the other and pulled out a book from her shoulder bag.  She fluffed her hair up to allow some of the strands to fall around her face and rumpled her pants.  The point was to not look too clean or too perfect.  With casual precision, she opened the book to the first third and began staring at the pages in front of her.  The text was all in Kyrinan, a language Allura knew very well - and precisely the reason her entourage at the Castle of Lions had even entertained the idea of her covert mission.  All she could do, however, was stare numbly at the text in front of her, her attention focused on the potentially dangerous people mingling jovially in the room.

"Tea or whiskey for ya, lass?"  Allura glanced up suddenly to the waitress hovering over her.  It was neither the greying hair or gentle crinkling around mischievous eyes, but the numerous tattoos along her skin that caught her attention.  The woman shifted under the innocent gaze.

"Ye aren't from around here, are ya?"

The incognito princess snapped out of her daze and rolled her eyes, attempting to cover her faux-pas.  She shrugged casually, feigning indifference.

"Tea would be great," she said after a moment.  The woman studied the princess skeptically for a moment before going to fetch the cup, and Allura left a worn copper coin on the table for payment.  She glanced back to the book half-propped on the table while keeping an eye on the patrons around her.  Buried deep within the Crimson Quadrant, the Arusian found herself looking for one specific person.

Just as her watch ticked over onto the hour, the man in question walked into the joint, just as the gathered intelligence predicted.   Allura exhaled once and dropped her eyes casually to the book.  Her heart fluttered in her chest and her hands tensed to keep from trembling.

Her target was unmistakable; he was a tall man, slightly overweight.  Auburn hair was cropped short and a defining scar cut over his left eye.  A leather trench coat fluttered behind him as his heavy boots hit the ground ominously, striding into the room and sitting down at a booth.  The waitress was quick to attend him, taking an order.

Allura kept her eyes on the book in front of her, watching his blurred form in her peripheral vision.  _What if he doesn't notice?  Really, that wouldn't be so terrible.  If the bait doesn't work, I'll go back to Arus.  Romelle and Sven can go home, it'll be like nothing-_

"Two whiskeys, please," a rough voice bloomed up from in front of her.  Allura's book fell over in surprise as she glanced up.  The man had moved to the seat across from her silently.  The waitress was quick to set two amber-colored liquors in front of either party.   The rugged man lazily pulled his glass to his lips, watching Allura's curled, almost-defensive form contemplatively.

"What's the occasion," she forced out, her mind still reeling from how quickly he had moved toward her, internally cursing the fact she hadn’t seen the onset.

"That book," he nodded to the tome in her hands and she set it on the table in front of him.  "What's the language that it's in?"  Allura's heart fluttered.  Alarm flitted through her veins - her poorly-contrived plot was working _too_ smoothly.

"Kyrinan," she said simply.  "What's it to you?"  From her brief observations, the general populace around her was open but wary, relaxed but guarded, and she did her best to emulate the language, the drawl and the attitude as best she could, despite her heart pounding in her throat.  There was a casual arrogance embodied easily by the vagrants that the gently-bred princess struggled to possess.

"No reason," he said smoothly, taking another taste of his drink.  Allura's remained untouched on the table before her.  She physically forced her body to remain reclined lazily in the booth, eyeing the man boredly.  "Just an unusual language to know."

"I like unusual things," she responded dryly, sipping her tea.  His eyes glinted almost dangerously as the gifted whiskey remained untouched.

"As do I."

"I take it you didn't join me to talk about a book on fairy tales," she said simply, impressed by her own indifference.

"I have no idea what the book is about.  I'm not familiar with the language - only what it looks like.  I couldn't give a shit about fairy tales, but the language itself _does_ interest me," he hinted.

Allura made it a point to bring the alcohol to her lips, imbibing only the faintest of a sip while feigning that the liquid brushed over her lips.

"Oh?"

"You don't know who I am, do you?"  His lips curled up slightly as Allura skimmed over his tan skin and silver eyes.

"I'm just a traveler, just passing through the sector, can't say that I do.  Should I be worried?  Am I in territory that I shouldn't be?"

The man in leather rolled his shoulders as a chuckle radiated from him.

"If you've got no ties or allegiances to anyone, you're not in any danger.  A bit of a rough crowd though..."

"I can handle them," she shrugged casually.  "I just don't want to end up in the middle of any turf wars."   Allura's heart skipped a beat when the man only frowned.  Her research on common jargon was fleeting at its very best, and she could only pray she used it correctly.

"You're fine.  Where'd you uh, learn... ...a language like that?"  He nodded back to the book.

"Self-taught," she said simply.  "Why?"

"You got work?"

Allura frowned, eyeing the man carefully.

"Why would you ask me that?"

"Because I'd like to hire... your services," he said simply.  Allura swallowed.  _There's no way this is going as simply as it is.  He must know who I am._   She decided to test him.

"I don't know what services you're hiring for, so, I'll be declining that offer, if you don't mind," she said with a sharp look, her eyes never leaving his features.  He laughed coldly.

"Well, there are two things you should know.  I want to hire you as a translator for my... _enterprise_.  Two, I'm not actually giving you a choice in the matter.  Well, I suppose I am, but I can guarantee if you walk out of this place with me you'll be far safer than if you stay," he explained quietly.  The princess's heart skipped a beat.

"Are you threatening me," she replied quietly, leaning over the table toward him.

"No, not at all.  I'm offering you protection.  I'm Cain DuBlois, I run a rather... well-known... organization in this sector.  You walk out that door under my employ and nobody will dare touch you.  You stay here in this joint, my little traveler, and you may meet some very... unsavory... company.   I happen to be able to put your language knowledge to good use and can pay you very, _very_ well for it.  I can guarantee your safety until you find the next place to move on to.  What do you say?"  In response, a gold coin flicked between his fingers as he extended it to her.

To a vagrant, a gold bit would be an impressive sum, Allura had to remind herself.  It was an extremely nontrivial amount to anyone who wasn't of royal descent.

"You sound shady," she said bluntly.

He laughed jovially in response.

"I admire your openness," he explained.  "And, to be honest, I _am_ shady.  I also admire your perception."  Allura frowned.  The information she was gaining from the man was nothing new, nothing she had not already researched, but she had an idea that hearing him say it meant she was slipping behind enemy lines.

"I won’t kill anyone, if that's what you're trying to hire.  I'm not a bed-warmer, either," she muttered, choosing her words carefully, conforming to the awkward vernacular of the class she impersonated.

"No, no, neither of those.  I truly mean that I need a translator... in that very language," he said, tapping his finger on the book she had been reading.  Allura tossed him a practiced, bored look, grateful for the hours she had spent in front of the mirror and even practicing new mannerisms in front of the boys.

"Will this get me arrested?"

"No.  Well ...Probably not," he amended with a smirk, once more extending the gold coin toward her.  Allura sighed and made a display of contemplating it before leaping straight into the dragon's maw and snagging the coin from his hand.

"What's the gig?"

Cain only grinned.

"We'll talk tomorrow, at this location," he said, handing her a piece of paper.  "Best if you scurry on to whatever place you're calling home though while you're in this sector."  He tapped the table once and rose, leaving Allura alone, clutching a scrap of parchment with a time and location on it.

* * *

_"So... where are they?  The lazon crystals?  Are... they all gone?"  Allura looked around the control room at Coran and Keith.  Her advisor only shook his head in response._

_"We don't know, Princess.  They've simply... disappeared off the markets."_

_"But we need them... right?  Keith?  That's..."_

_"They're critical to our weapon systems," he agreed with concern._

_"Does the Galaxy Alliance know anything?"  Allura turned back to Coran as the man shook his head._

_"They know nothing, and they have looked.  The trade district that they come out of has been a bit... overrun by some criminal activity, but otherwise... nothing concrete."_

_"Drule? Is it King Zaron?  I know that they use a lot of the lazon, too..."  Allura trailed off as Keith shook his head._

_"We don't think so.  We don't know who it is, but... we can pretty comfortably say it isn't Zarkon or Lotor... for once."_

_Allura pondered the information for a moment._

_"What happens if we can't get anymore lazon?  What if it's simply all gone?"  She felt her heart drop to her stomach when Coran and Keith exchanged a worried look._

_"Our lion weapons won't work.  If the power cores aren't damaged in combat, they should, admittedly, last indefinitely and continue to be able to recharge on the stations... but... we need that lazon, Princess.  We need it to resupply our weapons and we use it in repairs."_

_She exhaled._

_"Okay, so... do we know anything at all? Maybe the Galaxy Alliance can go arrest the criminals...?"_

_"It's not so simple.  There's no indication the crime syndicate in that sector has anything to do with it.  Sure, they could be arrested, but... to what end?  If they know where the lazon is, or are hoarding it for themselves - they wouldn't tell us anything once in custody.  That's if they even know anything.  For all we know, they moved into that sector due to the lack of the material."_

_"Well... where does it come from?  Someone must know!"  Allura's hands clasped in front of her as she glanced hopefully between the men._

_"There's an industrious race called the Kyrie that basically spend their lives mining it.  They're a fairly large population, so they might know.  Problem is... none of them speak any of the major languages.  We couldn't send the Galaxy Alliance after them because they wouldn't know how to communicate with them when they got there.  Plus, they would likely flee at the sight of an army,” Coran explained simply._

_"So in reality, we need to find someone that can speak their language and in the most non-threatening way possible, talk to them, right?"  Keith looked to the advisor who only nodded._

_"Problem is, if the crime syndicate has anything to do with it, they won't be happy about that.  So it would need to be someone skilled in combat, fluent in the language and able to blend in with the area and basically go undercover,” the elder Arusian mused to the commander._

_"Surely the Galaxy Alliance has someone who can do that, we can even help supply them with anything they need," Keith offered._

_Allura's head swam as she took a step back, her heart thudding dangerously in her chest as the men continued the conversation unaware of her sudden adrenaline._

_"I..." She trailed off, her whisper lost as her commander and advisor debated back and forth.  She waited for a lull in their conversation before trying again._

_"....I'm... I'm fluent in that language," she said softly, quickly earning two horrified looks.  Several seconds of silence rolled by before an explosion of protest came from both.  She held up her hands to quiet them.  "Hear me out... I'm trained in combat.  I know the language.  I know that particular race's customs... really the only thing I'm missing is an understanding of how to... not be a princess," she added, her eyes darting between them._

_"We couldn't be there, you know," Keith said quietly after a moment.  "It would blow your cover."_

_"Moreover, you're one of the most famous people in the galaxy with Voltron's success against Zarkon.  I daresay there isn't a place you could go and not be recognized.  Going into the heart of that place would brand you a missionary for the Galaxy Alliance - they might kill you on sight.  It's absolutely out of the question, Princess."_

_"Well... what if I wear a disguise?  I could color my hair... I wouldn't go in my pink dress, of course..."_

_"I don't like it," Keith commented flatly._

_"Who else could go?  We simply cannot not have lazon... and if the Galaxy Alliance can't solve it... who else can?  I can do this.  Let me do this, let me bring back the fuel cells we need to continue protecting Arus.  I'll be in and out before anyone has any idea who I am.  I'll try and find where the Kyrie are and see if I can casually talk with them about the lazon.  I'll get out before any of the bad guys find out I'm there."  Her eyes flitted between two concerned faces._

_"You have to stay here.  You don't think people will get suspicious if you disappeared?  You might be undercover for weeks.  What about Arus?  What about Voltron?"  Coran begged.  Allura frowned, stumped by his question._

_"...Not that I'm advocating that you go," Keith began slowly.  "...I really don't want you to, but I do see the practicality of it... ...Princess Romelle, if she did her hair right, could easily pass as you for most everyone who isn't close to you."_

_"Oh!  You're right, Keith!"  Allura looked to her commander excitedly._

_"She can't fly Blue Lion," Coran pointed out._

_"Sven can!  No one has to know he's here though - have Romelle dress as me and if you do need the lions, Sven can launch!  This could absolutely work!"  Allura clapped her hands together excitedly as Coran shot Keith a dangerous look._

_"I don't like it either, Coran, but it might be the only option we got at this point.  We'll get some backup plans," he added. “We will make sure to have extraction procedures in place in case we need to bail her out on a moment’s notice.”_

_Coran groaned and turned away from the two._

* * *

 Allura's eyes flickered around the darkened room.  She exhaled slowly in an attempt to calm her racing heart. _Can I really do this?_  After wandering aimlessly around the alarmingly unregulated district, she had found an abandoned building not far from her rendezvous point.  With careful attention to barricade the warehouse door and secure the dingy windows, she had made a small nest for herself in the loft of the building.  The entrances were secured, and the raised platform was out of immediate eyesight, granting her both an advantageous hiding place as well as the element of surprise should someone choose to invade her resting ground.

Moonlight fell through a dusty skylight and she drew the rough, flannel blanket over her tighter.

_I wish Keith were here._

She pouted, a hint of doubt clouding her mind.  Days earlier she had been so certain of her noble calling to chase after the disappearing lazon, but as she lay on a bed fit for beggars in the dark of night on a far planet, she started to reconsider her idea.  _Am I truly cut out for this?_

"I mean, so far, I _have_ succeeded," she argued with herself quickly.   "I've already made contact with Cain and arranged a meeting tomorrow.  I'm far ahead of schedule," she murmured.  She exhaled, her spirits rising as she flopped her arms behind her head.  "A few nights of discomfort never bothered me.  I've endured worse in battle.  I'll be back in my own bed before I know it."  The last words were a whisper on her lips as she allowed exhaustion to take her.


	2. Exploration

Allura blinked as the dawn rolled through one of the windows.  She kicked off the blanket and after carefully checking that no one had invaded her sanctum, she dropped deftly down from the rafters.  Trailing a frustrating attempt to finger-comb her hair, she frowned and headed out into the sunlight.

Most of the outdoor market was quiet – the rugged place was most active nearest nightfall, the uncouth occupants scuttling to their dwellings or docked ships as the sun rose.  She blinked, waking up fully as she yawned and stretched before making her way to the nearest restaurant.  With another of the few copper coins she carried openly with her – as she didn’t dare get caught with a purse fit for a princess – she bought a breakfast of toast and coffee.

She utilized the restroom in the establishment to freshen up. Braiding her hair back once more, Allura charted her course to the location Cain had specified.  Meeting in daylight with no one around was arguably more dangerous than meeting at night.  For the type of crowd she was tangling with, noon became the desolate witching hour.

Her eyes skimmed the empty intersection before resting her back against a wall.  Allura crossed her arms lazily over her chest, watching the empty space around her carefully.  Her shoulder bag lay slung against her hip, her books and blank notebook stored inside, as well as a hidden compartment stitched into the side to hide a few gold bits on the off-chance she needed to throw her weight around and buy her way out of trouble.

When a form dropped in front of her from the sky, Allura couldn’t stop the cry of surprise that left her lips as the darkened-clad figure rose slowly before her. 

Her heart hammered in double time.

“You’re the one meeting Cain.”

She could only nod dumbly in response.

“Follow me.”

Allura’s eyes shifted around but she dutifully fell into step behind the shadow-clad representative.  It took all her strength to force herself into a lazy, untroubled gait as the hooded acolyte guided her.  Weaving in and out of buildings, the slender figured paused and turned to face Allura.

Silence settled over the duo as the messenger measured the her wordlessly before pushing open a door and gesturing the girl inside.  Tossing the shady companion one last, wary look, she crept into the darkened room.

The interior of the building was saloon-styled, but relatively vacant like much of the surrounding area.  A smoky haze covered the vicinity and Allura’s boots echoed ominously off of the dusty, wooden floors.  She paused just inside the entry way, the envoy closing the door behind her and extracting most of the remaining light. 

Allura blinked.

“Come on in, dear girl,” a voice beckoned from the back.  With a last glance over her shoulder toward the closed door, the incognito princess moved closer to the back of the room, winding her way around empty tables and chairs.  As her eyes adjusted, she found Cain sitting at the very back of the room in a booth.  He gestured for her to join him.  Allura obliged, sliding nervously into the seat across from him.

“Ever been here before?”  His eyes sparkled in the darkness, watching the unusual child in front of him.

“I can’t say that I have.  …Where… exactly is… ‘here’?”  She tilted her dark head to the side curiously.

“Welcome to the Drunken Witch,” he said carefully, a chuckle in his deep belly.  “By night, it’s an establishment of entertainment, debauchery and gambling.  During the day, it’s relatively quiet, save the… administrative staff,” he hedged carefully.  His eyes narrowed when Allura’s snapped to his far too quickly.

“Administrative?  Like… you?”

“You’re oddly perceptive for someone who never settles in one place, girl,” he commented warily.  Allura flushed, scrambling to cover her overstep with causal indifference.

“I like to read.  Besides, I thought that was the whole reason you asked me here.”

“Clever, clever,” he murmured lazily.  “Scotch?”

He gestured to two glasses that were placed in front of them, the young server disappearing quickly into the back room to give them privacy.

“What… what time is it?”  Allura blinked in surprise at the beverage of choice so early in the day.

“Does it matter?”  Cain sipped his, watching the princess carefully.

“I… I don’t… really drink…” she offered softly.

“Sure you do,” he insisted, sipping from his again.  Allura warily put the amber drink to her lips.  _Blend in_ , she encouraged herself.

“So… what am I being hired for,” she changed the subject deftly.

He studied her intently for a moment before glancing down to the worn tabletop between them.

“I run a… _trade_ … business,” he said, choosing his words carefully.  “One of the things I deal with most often has… vanished.  My suppliers are usually very quick to send me their supplies but… I have not received any in a while.  Moreover, whenever I go to investigate the… warehouse, they are nowhere to be found and the stores are empty.”

“How can I help with this?”  Allura’s waifish curiosity melded through her guise as she watched the man earnestly.

“Have you ever heard of something called… ‘lazon’?  It’s a type of crystal…  Scientists really like it.”

“I… I think I may have read about it somewhere at some point,” she supplied gently, grateful she was able to guard her expression.   Her heart hammered excitedly. “It’s expensive or something, isn’t it?”  He paused to take another sip before setting the glass down pointedly.

“ _Very._ ”

She swallowed nervously.

“So… I mean, I’m not a scientist, I don’t know anything about lazor crystals,” she stuttered.

“Lazon,” he corrected swiftly.  “You don’t need to know anything about them.  I need your skills in language.  That book you were reading, that’s the language of the people who mine it.  I’d like you to poke around the mines and see if you can find any traces – written or otherwise – of the miners.  I want to know any notes they left, any transmissions, or hell if you’re lucky enough to find one – I want to know what he has to say.  Sound like a deal?”

“Well, I’ll do my best, but what if no one is there?”

“We’ll go from there.  For now, we start at the source and work our way outwards.  Needless to say, you work for me, and me alone.  If I see you talking to, or sharing information with anyone else, we are going to have a problem.  This is a sensitive topic.  If any of the acolytes give you issues, tell them to take it up with me,” he murmured darkly.

Allura’s eyes widened at the veiled threat and she nodded quickly in understanding.

“Of… of course,” she replied.  “When do I start?”

“Now, if you’re ready.  Armin there,” he nodded to a new guard that had appeared in the doorway.  “Will take you to where the mine shafts are.  Remember – I want _everything_.  Even if no one is there, look everywhere.  Any scrap of paper, any note carved into a wall.  I want to know what it says.”

She nodded quickly.

“Understood.  Now?”

“Now,” he encouraged.  Allura pushed up from the table and as she began to make her way toward Armin,  Cain’s hand snagged her wrist tightly.  She froze and looked back at him.  “I’m not usually in the habit of asking this question but,  what exactly is your name, child?”

“Al… Illiya,” she murmured nervously, swallowing heavily.  Allura could barely remember the name she had chosen for herself under the intensity of his gaze.

“Illiya,” he repeated, nodding once, releasing her wrist.  “Go, then, with Armin, and bring me back information.”

Allura turned and moved away from the intimidating man, pausing to regard the cloaked figure near the door.  He nodded once in her direction before making his way outside.

* * *

“Do I… just go in?”  Allura glanced over to Armin standing beside her.  Both entities stood in front of the entrance to the lazon mine; nearly the only structure on the remote asteroid.  They weren't far from the urban collective that housed the shops, homes and facilities for people involved with the trade, but it was starkly devoid of anything but mining equipment.  The shaft was an industrial masterpiece – hollowed out and reinforced with steel, tracks for hover carts running the length of it.  When Armin said nothing, Allura frowned.  “Well?”

“…We are forbidden to speak with you,” he said at last.  The girl jumped, surprised by the mismatched deep timbre of his voice.  He appeared to be a slight man, barely taller than her and only marginally heavier.  She frowned and just shook her head once before carefully stepping past the barricades.

She tossed one last look over her shoulder as Armin stood sentinel outside the entry before descending into darkness.

* * *

As the light from the sky vanished completely, Allura paused in her descent to remove the flashlight from her bag.

Her ears strained for any sound of activity, any evidence of workers present.  The only noise filtering back to her ears was her own bootsteps.

She swiveled the halo of light across the passageway as she followed the cart tracks deeper into the earth.

Allura paused by an abandoned cart, peering over the edge.  Lazon was an unusual element - in its raw form it was crystallized and not entirely uncommon.  Many of the asteroids circling stars on the larger end of the spectrum were prime candidates for lazon deposits - something about the rich elements of the fusion process seemed to forge the buds of the lazon crystals.

The process was not entirely well understood and was one of the prime goals of her team of scientists - at least it would be once she had hedged out the Drule Empire and formed suitable defenses for her planet.

Her lips pursed at the thought, frustration blooming in her mind at the realization that her people could be on the cutting-edge of lazon research if only the War King would leave her be.

"Beasts," she murmured, tracing her fingertips along the bottom of the cart, rubbing the lazon granules between her fingers.

"Still," she murmured, unable to tame the fascination in her heart.  "A real lazon mine.  I never thought I would see one.  Perhaps in my mission, I will be able to learn more of the Kyrie's mysterious refining process.  If we could emulate what they do..."

She trailed off, the possibilities for clean, sustained energy would be endless.  Her heart hammered.  One more thing she could provide for her people.  One less thing someone could use against her; the more self-sustaining she could make her people, the safer they would be.

Despite finding herself in the far reaches of the galaxy in a dark, empty hole, stripped of her name, her title and even her appearance, she smiled.

"All good things," she promised herself, sweeping the cone of light over the ceiling to study the supports holding the shaft open.  Confident in their structural integrity, she continued her descent carefully.

Tiny shards of lazon glinted at her from the walls; shards too small to be bothered with harvesting.

_Or left to grow...?_

The strange thought struck the princess and she turned, wide eyes riveting on the pieces of glittering energy housed in the wall.

_How **exactly** does the parent star trigger the lazon formations?_

The curiosity nestled in the back of her mind as the fascination with the mysterious process for one of the most important elements in the modern galaxy and a giddy giggle erupted from her lips.

"If I do this well, I'll be speaking with someone who may actually know these answers..."

With renewed vigor, Allura broke into a jog, eager to finish scouting the mine, the end goal less about information and more about discovery.

* * *

"Oh," she murmured as she stepped back onto the surface.  Two things caught her by surprise. Armin stood diligently in the precise spot she had left the silent man in, and the small station in the distance had done a near-half rotation, throwing the urban development into its night cycle.

“How long…” She trailed off with a huff, realizing the sentry wasn’t going to give her an answer.  Instead, he simply turned and made his way back toward the small craft he had originally shuttled them to the asteroid in.

Allura slid in beside him, casting a nonchalant look over the dash as he powered the machine on.

The technology seemed fairly basic, but had no origins that she recognized.

_At least this rules out a plot from Planet Doom,_ she thought dryly.  The journey was only a mere moment before they landed, once more within a gravity-bound air pocket on the base.

“Should I report in to Cain or wait until…”

She huffed as the man only silently exited the craft and began walking away.

After a moment’s hesitation, Allura shouldered her bag and rose from the craft.

Armin stilled as he walked away from her, pausing to turn and regard her expectantly at her hesitance.  A thin smile pressed to her lips.

“That answers that question,” she replied softly, resigning herself to follow the ever-silent sentry as he led the way back through the urban hub.

What had been quiet storefronts and empty establishments in the noon hour was warming up to become a bustle of midnight trading, dealing and likely stealing.

She clutched her bag tightly to her chest as she wound around the patrons and the vendors setting up.  Her eyes flitted over the coin exchanging hands and the unmarked parcels being distributed.

Unless it was lazon, Allura decided she definitely did _not_ want to know what was being traded.

Armin disappeared back into the saloon from earlier and with an exhale to steady her nerves, she followed him.

What had been a dusty, vacant parlor had become a lively, drunken establishment.

Allura couldn’t help the agape expression on her face.

“That’s… she’s not wearing much,” she murmured, wide-eyed as a woman in ruffles, feathers and little else leaned over one of the tables occupied by three men.

“Haven’t run into many harlots in your travels then, Illiya?  Strange… you seemed more well-read than that.”

Allura stiffened, clutching her satchel to her chest suddenly before peering over her shoulder.

Cain’s eyes glinted down at her ominously.

“Have you news?”

Allura’s eyes swept the hall as chatter raised in volume.  She shook her head once, her brow furrowing.

“Not much, I’m afraid.  I-”

“Not here,” he cut her off, turning to lead her into a back room.

The princess tossed one last wary look over the dangerously blossoming hall before following Cain.

“Here,” he advised as the door swing shut behind her.

Allura exhaled, releasing her strangle-hold on her satchel.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much yet.  I did a once-over in the mine, I may go back tomorrow and look more closely now that I have a feel for it.  There’s traces of lazon there, small dust deposits.  It definitely looks like the workers left suddenly. I didn’t find anything written to report back on, unfortunately,” she admitted nervously.

Cain’s brow furrowed and he nodded once.

“Keep looking when you get a chance,” he murmured, a rumble of a threat in the undertone of his language.  “Have you secured lodging for yourself?  I can make arrangements for you to stay in one of the rooms here,” he murmured.

“I’m… I’ve made my own arrangements,” she supplied with a gentle smile.  “Thank you.”  The prospect of attempting to get sleep in such a place was beyond her comprehension.  She would far, far rather take her chances with her lofty perch.

“I’ll let you know when I come across something useful,” she supplied.

Cain’s eyes narrowed as he studied her – truly _studied_ her expression, the way she carried herself, even the purse of her lips.

Allura grew uncomfortable, wondering if it were possible he could see right through her guise.

“See that you do.”

Allura nodded and swiftly departed, slinking along the edge of the wall toward the exit.

Freeing herself from the confines of the seedy gathering place, Allura began tactfully navigating around the bustling dark market square when a sound caught her ear.

Amidst the heckling and catcalls, the harking and the cursing, her well-trained hearing managed to catch a phrase that stopped her dead in her tracks.

“ _Imperial._ ”

It wasn’t the word that caught her by surprise – it was that it was spoken in **Kyrinan**.

She swallowed nervously, glancing around as she saw someone giving her a curious stare.  Immediately, Allura’s gaze drifted down to the merchant stall in front of her, pretending to study the wares while she desperately strained to pinpoint where the words were coming from.

_“We must keep it hidden.”_

_“We must tell them.  They will kill us.”_

_“If-“_

Allura blinked as her shoulder got bumped by a passerby, jostling her from her focus.  She glanced around before looking back to the scroll in front of her, trying to catch the wisps of conversation.  They seemed to float out of a small huddle of people, but Allura couldn’t get a clear enough look to determine if any of them were in fact, Kyrie.  Nearly all aspects of their forms were obscured by dark fabric.

_“-middle of a war.”_

_“And what of the high emperor?”_

_“He must never know.”_

_“And-“_

A deafening explosion rattled the marketplace, throwing Allura bodily to the side and overturning the counter top.  She grunted, getting to her hands and knees.  The upturned stall nearby gave her the perfect cover as she scooted toward the barrier, cautiously interested in what had detonated.

Her ears rang from the shockwave as her fingers curled over the wood paneling. 

Slowly, she rose to peer over the edge. 

Screams, shrieks and howls filled the air in the same way embers and smoke did.  

The flames glittered in the darkness, throwing the texture of the wood, the fabric of the clothes and the shape of the expressions into stark relief.

She squinted through all the smoke, trying to see past all the fleeing people.  Figures were blurred in the shadows of the smoke, approaching the center of the market, backlit by more flames.

Her eyes narrowed.

_Something… familiar…_

The shadow in the center of the approaching pack had something that glowed in its hand.

_Why are you familiar…?_

She frowned deeper.

“No,” she whispered in open panic.  Her eyes widened and she dropped behind the upturned counter to hide as robotic Drule soldiers stepped through the smoke, their rifles trained on the illicit patrons in the Black Market.   Her breath froze in her throat as she heard an extraordinarily familiar voice ring out.

“I would like to know where my supply of lazon has gone.”

With trembling hands, Allura turned back around slowly and peeked over the edge of her hiding place once more.

Prince Lotor stood in the center, sword drawn and shimmering in the glinting embers of destruction around him.  The lord of chaos looked perfectly at home amidst the rubble and fear around him.

“Begin the interrogation,” he instructed.  “Find Cain.”


	3. Interrogation

Allura dropped back down and pressed her back into the paneling.  Her hands clasped over her ears as she winced.

Screams sounded out.  

As she recovered enough to listen to the chaos around her, she heard guards interrogating the merchants.  When the purveyors could not answer the question, a blast from a phaser or hum of a whip sounded, occasionally by howls of mortal pain.

Bile wretched her throat.

_They’re hurting them…_

Alarm hammered in her chest as she realized she was cowering behind a market stall herself.  If they found her, she would be dead one way or another.  Her cover would be lost. 

_Mission abandoned._

Steeling her nerves, Allura pushed to her feet and sprinted at a dead bolt away from the chaos.  She leaped over carts and shattered booths, attempting to put as much distance between her and the evil prince as possible.

_Of **course** he would show up and complicate things_ , she thought bitterly. _He **always** does._

“Hey, halt!”

The robotic voice only pushed her to run faster.

_I can’t fight them,_ she though darkly.   _I don’t have my usual weapons on me – plus if they find out who I am… if Lotor doesn’t kill me, Cain will._

Running was the hardest decision she could have made, knowing that people were being harmed behind her, but the mission was compromised.  Her duty to Arus was far more important and escaping to her home had become her primary objective.  If she could get there, she could come back with Blue Lion and-

Fire ripped through her right thigh as a laser graced her skin.  She cried out, her stance buckling.  Allura caught herself after four, stumbling strides and began running again, pushing through the pain, but the damage was done.

The guard had caught up to her.

A staggering blow hit her between the shoulder blades and the taste of dirt quickly infiltrated her senses.  She groaned as the world around her shifted.

“Do you know where the lazon is?”

Allura rolled over onto her back, her eyes focusing on the soldier standing over her.   She shook her head once.

“I don’t, but I’m actually trying to find out,” she confessed without thinking through the ramifications of it.

“Then you might be useful,” it said, shouldering its rifle.  With ruthless accuracy, it leaned over and lifted her up, dragging her back toward the inferno.  The second she realized the sentry was taking her back in the direction of Prince Lotor, she dug her heels in, struggling with all her strength.

“Do not resist.”

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered before another splitting blow landed on the back of her neck, causing her vision to swim.   Without warning, the ground beneath her moved violently, peeling away from her feet before meeting her face once more.

She spit up dirt, coughing violently as she shook her head.

“Sire, this one might be valuable,” she heard the robot guard speak.

_Sire._

She fought the alarm clawing through her veins, afraid to look behind her as she pushed up from the ground to her hands and knees.  Her lungs burned from the ash she had inhaled and Allura focused on trying to ready her strength.

“She would be the eighth to say that.  A waste of my time,” Lotor’s voice wafted toward her from his turned back and Allura’s eyes snapped to the guard who was withdrawing his firearm from its holster.  

She braced.

“Now Cain, let’s try this once more.  What do you know about my missing lazon?  I’m not a very patient man, and if you don’t start giving answers, I may just start taking body parts.”

Allura glanced over to see Lotor pacing in a slow circle around a restrained Cain.  The hum of the rifle powering up behind her caught Cain’s attention.

“Her!  She can help!  I’ll give you her!”

Allura dropped her eyes to the ground quickly, letting her dark hair fan around her face like a protective shield at the prince’s eyes swiveled to her body in the dirt, looking over her for the first time.

“How can she help me?”  His voice was measured, calculated.  While his words remained aloof, she could practically _feel_ the gears turning in his mind.

“She speaks the language!  I do not know where the lazon has gone, my lord, I’ve been trying to find out.   But I found her!”

“ _Where_ did you find her?”

Allura heard the noise of the holstering of a rifle.  Had Lotor waved the guard down?

“She’s… she’s just a mere vagrant, sire, but she speaks their language.  For some reason she likes to read.”

“How did you meet her?”

Allura tensed, staring down at the dirt before her.  She could feel the soldier staring at her from one side and Lotor’s eyes boring into her from the other – and she couldn’t articulate which was more intimidating.  Calculations began running in the back of her mind; tabulating how to get past the guard and escape.

“I was at the rest beacon a few clicks up and she was just there. With a book in Kyrinan.”

“And that seemed _normal_ to you?”

Allura winced.

_Of course Lotor would notice._

Cain did not reply.

“No matter.  I’ll take her then.  I normally prefer blonds, but she’s pretty enough.  Escort her back to my suite.”

Allura blanched as the guard that had nearly killed her hoisted her up to her feet.  She stumbled, following alongside the robot.  She kept her head down, praying to whatever gods would hear her that Lotor hadn’t recognized her.

“Thank you for your contribution,” Lotor said softly to the crime warlord.  “I’m certain she’ll be… _useful_ in one capacity or another.”

* * *

Allura found herself pensively sitting on the edge of a black silk-draped bed shoved against a corner of the room.  She had no idea how long she had been locked in the chambers, but her anxiety kept rising.  Had there been any other place to sit in the room on the second floor of Cain’s tavern, she would have gladly taken purchase there.

The rustic look of the first floor created a warm, rugged look for the standard patrons of the establishment.  The finely-furnished, technologically-enhanced second floor had been clearly tailored to high-class and high-profile clients; some, like Prince Lotor, seemingly having a suite that was his and his alone.

While the room was modest in size; the establishment not nearly large enough to cater to grandiose penthouses; it still spared no expense in luxury.  Sleek, steel floors and black marble furniture all reeked of the Drule prince’s tastes, and the dark ambience did little for her nerves.

Her hands were balled into fists and her eyes were riveted on the floor when the automatic lock clicked and the door swished open.

She didn’t glance up as cautious bootfalls fell around her.  Her eyes stayed locked on the ground, her muscles tensing even tighter than they had before, her hair falling around her face, forming a shieldwall.

_Do I fight him?  What’s he expecting?_

He didn’t say a word, but the sound of metal on stone echoed as he removed his helmet and set it upon the spartan dresser.  Allura didn’t move beyond her fingers tensing slightly in her lap.

“So.”

She didn’t respond to his word.

“You’re mine now,” he stated flatly.  In a flourished movement, he undid his skull belt and whipped it off, setting it aside with his saber next to his helmet, causing Allura to flinch slightly for the first time in his presence.

It took all the fire in all the heavens for Allura to bite her tongue at the comment.  Her eyes stayed intently locked on the floor.  She feared if she raised them to meet the warlord she would lose her strength of will… and her temper.

“Most women would be on their knees before me now,” he said casually, shrugging out of his gloves and tossing them aside.

“Beast,” she whispered, her fury rupturing through her silent façade.  Tears sprang to the corners of her eyes as her shoulders trembled.

“ _What_ did you say?”

Allura bit down on her bottom lip quickly, regretting the slip in her control.  His footsteps echoed across the room as he came to stand in front of her, his boots entering her field of view.  The princess felt her skin pale a sickly shade at the sight, but she held fast.

“You know, only one other woman has ever dared call me that,” he said lazily.

Before she could process what was happening, his bare hand touched her jaw and gently lifted her eyes to meet his as he stood over her.  She swallowed, staring up at the dangerous form of the Drule prince grinning down at her.

Allura remained very still as he leaned in close, letting his lips brush against her ear conspiratorially.  He took his time before continuing, as if savoring the closeness.

“That was your cousin, Romelle…”

“ _Great stars!_ ”  She sprang back from him, all forms of demure covertness lost, tumbling sideways off the foot of the bed and rising to her feet as her pious indignity revealed itself.  “You _knew_!”

“Of course I knew!  What in all that’s evil are you doing in a wretched place like this!?”  His voice thundered back at her, echoing off the chamber.

She frowned for a thoughtful moment.

“Same reason you are, I believe,” she admitted.  “I just took…. A more _subtle_ approach.   Heavens above us, when were you going to tell me?”

“I just did,” he said simply with a smirk.

“Then you know quite well you certainly don’t _own_ me in any capacity.”  Her eyes raged storms across the room at the insufferable man.

“Who would stop me?”  He quirked an evil eyebrow in her direction and Allura paled slightly.

“I would,” she replied with less determination than she would have liked.  In response, he covered the distance between them quickly, courting around the bed.

Allura danced back but he closed the gap, grasping her wrists between his hands and drawing her close against him.  She squirmed violently, but he held fast.

“So stop me,” he taunted her as the princess exerted all her strength and will to break free from him.  She finally gave up after an impressive several minutes and sagged against him in fatigue.

“You’re a terrible, terrible monster, Prince Lotor,” she chastised him gently.

“Perhaps, but I now have you in my arms, don’t I?”

She glared lethally up at him, struggling to catch her breath.  As she leveled him with a murderous look, his expression softened.

“Your eyes are green,” he commented softly, releasing one of her wrists to touch her cheek lightly.  Lotor quickly realized his mistake when her palm connected with his face at near-terminal velocity.

He stumbled backward with a curse, releasing her entirely in surprise and Allura sprang away from him like liquid lightning.

“Yes, the point was to be unrecognizable!  How did you know it was I, anyway?”  She drew herself to her full height haughtily, despite being a full head shorter.  He frowned, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully.

“You’re utterly unmistakable, Allura.  You could change your hair, your eyes, dress in rags,” he gestured to her current, dirtied attire.  “But I’d still see you.”

She blinked in surprise.

“Do you think that Cain-”

“I think Cain is an imbecile,” he muttered, dropping his palm to his side.  “But no, I do not think anyone else here knows your name.  …What name _did_ you give them, exactly?”

Allura shifted uncomfortably.

“…Illiya,” she admitted gently.

“And how in all that’s evil did your _precious_ commander ever agree to let you do this?”

Allura glared at the arrogant man, the spite in the sentence not lost to her ears.

“It… took some effort,” she admitted after a while.  “But… as you’ve seen, something has happened to the lazon trade supply.  And I do, in fact, speak the Kyrinan language so… here I am.  I can’t say I expected _you_ , however.  That was an uncalculated oversight. …besides, I don’t answer to anyone in the castle.  I do what I please.”   She sniffed.

“I’m very aware,” he murmured.

Allura scowled.

“What did you think you would accomplish, charging in here with your sword drawn and soldiers firing?  Did you think he would just _give_ you information?”

Lotor’s jaw tensed as the fiery woman turned her assault on him now that he had her cornered.

“I’m starting to think I should have let you continue to believe that I didn’t know who you were,” he muttered darkly.

A moment of stiff silence passed between them.

“I’m going to go find the lazon,” she said at last, defiantly strolling across the room toward the door.

“Hold it,” he commanded, grabbing her arm.  “You’re staying here.”

“I most certainly am not!” Green fire enveloped him as her gaze fixated through her hued lenses. “Unhand me!”

“You’re mine. I-”  His sentence was cut off when her palm struck his cheek once more.  He cursed sharply in his mother tongue.

Regaining his faculties, his eyes narrowed on her dangerously.  Allura’s own expression was equally dark.

“I belong to _no one_ ,” she murmured with promise.

The growl that reverberated in his chest startled the woman, and for a fleeting second she worried she had pushed him too far.

His eyes betrayed a lethal frustration; one heralded by his culture.

She swallowed and slowly backed away, even as he exhaled once, calming his wrath, conscientiously releasing his hold on her as she retreated.

“Where have you been staying?”

Her eyes popped wide at the strange question, her free hand gently cradling the place he had grasped her.

“I… I what?”

“You can’t have been coming to and from Arus – they would’ve noticed.  Where have you been spending your evenings, Allura?”

His head tilted to the side and she licked her lips nervously.

“I… I found a place; why does that matter?”

She propped her palms on her hips dangerously and her lips pursed taut.

“Tell me, are you warming Cain’s bed, then?”

The tart, near-vicious undercurrent to his voice caught her by surprise before a surge in rampant indignation flooded her bloodstream, nearly blinding her vision.

“You… why… why you...” As she recollected her faculties, the demure woman stalked toward him.  “How _dare_ you think I would sell myself off that way!  You wretched, vile, beast of a man – do you believe my integrity so low? I-”

She froze mid-rant as he caught the wrist of the palm she hadn’t even realized she’d elevated.  His thumb rubbed over the pulse of her wrist as he pulled her closer, the only remnant of her fury being a sputtering protest.

“No, I don’t.  So, where _are_ you staying?”

Allura’s cheeks colored brightly as his palm curled about the small of her back, his other hand still coiled about her wrist.

For once his hold wasn’t unkind or overpowering.  It was gentle… almost… lazily affectionate.

She snorted in his face, clearing the thought.

“You wretched, beastly-”

“ _Allura._ ”

She stilled, her fury quieting as he gently relinquished his control over her.

“Allura,” he insisted.  “It's not safe out there.”

Serpentine eyes flickered to the door before back to her, emphasizing the word _there_.

She folded her arms over her chest self-consciously as she rocked back on her heels.

"And you think it is _here_?"

Allura’s jaw tensed at the hard light that flashed behind his eyes.  Her temper dissipated the rest of the way as she surrendered.

“I found a secure location, alright?  You don’t need to worry about me.  It’s an old warehouse in the fifth district.  No one’s there.” When Lotor only arched an eyebrow she exhaled in further exasperation.  “I’m even in the rafters.  It’s _safe_.”

“Princess of Arus and one of the highest-ranking nobles in the galaxy… sleeping in the rafters of a warehouse,” he murmured.

She scowled.

“Yes, well, no one else knows that.  And I need to go back.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

Livid, frosty fire fixed on him.

“You mean to keep me your prisoner?”

“I mean to keep you _safe_.  Cain believes you’re now in my employ as… entertainment.” A wicked smirk stretched across his lips at the holy righteousness that flushed blatantly across her lovely features.  Before she could detonate, he held up his palm to her. “To clarify, I am not operating under that same expectation.  …Unless you’re curious, of course, I’d be happy to oblige…”

“ _Lotor!_ ”

“What I am offering is a much, much safer arrangement, and one more tailored to your rank.”

“What…”

Her dubious scowl studied him as he breezed past her.  At a wave of Lotor’s hand, a door palmed open to a full bath, complete with soft, warmed towels.

Her eyes widened and he grinned, leaning over to whisper in her ear.

“Are you telling me you would rather return to your frigid loft rather than indulge in something more suited to your lineage?  Whether in mask or not, you _are_ of royal blood and deserve only the finest that can come your way, Princess.”

A flush colored Allura’s cheeks as he nudged her toward the open door.

She spun to face him.

“Surely you don’t expect me to undress-”

“Take all the time you need.  I’ll be waiting,” he murmured, grinning sinfully at the flushed woman.

“You think I’m simply going to disrobe in your chamber?”

Allura couldn’t place the shadow that flashed behind his feline gaze, her incredulous tone dying on her lips.

“I give you my word as a Crown Prince,” he replied darkly.

“And your word means-”

“ _Everything_ ,” he finished sharply, before she could further her insult to his integrity.  “As rulers, our word is our law – I have never lied to you, Allura.  You may mark my honor on that.”

Allura swallowed nervously and nodded.

“I’ll be undisturbed?”

“As you wish.”

She studied him closely, testing his promise.  His feral eyes stared back with intensity, daring her to question his oath once more.

She nodded again.

“Very well.”

In any other situation, any other circumstance, the prospect of taking advantage of Lotor’s amenities seemed ludicrous; reviling even.  After two days of masquerading; she couldn’t deny the appeal of a warm bath, even if it came with the fearsome prince on the other side of the door.

As terrifying as the prospect was; there _did_ echo a glint of fierce pride in his eyes.  For reasons beyond her comprehension… she _believed_ him.

With one last, guarded look in his direction, she tapped the pad on the inside of the door, causing the barrier to slide shut between them.

Allura waited.

Her ears strained as she listened to his movements on the other side of the steel panel.  

Footfalls echoed on the floor before stopping altogether. 

Paper rustled.

She frowned, folding her arms across her chest, glaring.

_There’s no way._

Without the honesty burning behind his gaze, Allura’s courage waned.  Her eyes swept the room.  It was a large enough addition to the suite to house a deep bathing basin as well as an overhead shower.

_Heaven._

A proper bath would feel like a godsend, but uncertainty lingered regarding the frightening man.

“At the very least,” she murmured, glancing down to her shoulder bag.  “I can get a bit of relief.”

After digging around, she procured a specialized case and a vial of liquid saline. After settling before a mirror and steeling her nerves against the procedure she had practiced only a handful of times, she carefully removed the green-tinted lenses.  Tucking them away safely, she blinked and exhaled, enjoying the fresh air.

“Stars, that’s better.”

_Now._

Unmasked cerulean eyes stared at the closed door, her hip resting against the basin of the sink.  Seconds rolled into minutes and still, Allura waited.  Her arms folded over her chest, her lips pursed taut and defiant.

When yet more time passed, she frowned.

Straightening, Allura made her way to the shower and turned on the water.  A smile caressed her lips as tantalizing steam curled into the air.

_Heavens._

A shower _would_ be welcome.  And yet.

She glared back over her shoulder.  Water continued to rain behind her and still the unpredictable warlord still did not bother the door.

“What in the six heavens,” she muttered, flustered by the odd display.  A few, brisk strides across the room later, she palmed the door open.

Lotor glanced up suddenly from where he leaned over a small work table.  His eyes widened at the sight of her, still fully dressed, a curtain of steam unfurling behind her.

“Allura?  What’s wrong?”

He straightened abruptly, the documents spread before him forgotten.

“I…”

She trailed off, lost for her words.

“Do you require something?”

A blush covered her cheeks as she realized he had intended to keep his word all along.  Despite her attempts to test his oath with the sound of running water, he had kept his commitment.

“I… …no,” she said sheepishly.  “Sorry to trouble you,” she added, turning back to the small bathing chamber, the door sliding closed behind her.

Mortification laced her veins and heated her skin, shame settling uncomfortably over a mantle.

“Still,” Allura encouraged herself as she fought to cling to her pride.  Her shoulder bag dropped unceremoniously to the floor, far enough from the water that the book and other water-fragile items wouldn’t be damaged.  “It’s not like he’s given me much of a reason to trust him.”

Her fingers tugged at her clothes, peeling them off her frame, depositing them on top of her satchel.

_I have never lied to you._

“Sure,” she murmured.  While she couldn’t think of one specifically, she was certain there must be at least one instance of deception.

As she stepped into the running shower, the hot water obliterated all conscious thought with the single, reverent exhale that left her lips.  Time ceased to exist at the water washed away all the dirt, lazon and smoke that had permeated her skin.

Fingernails dug into her scalp, releasing the sweat from the day’s toils.

_I might be able to properly brush it now,_ she mused, a smile curling at her lips.  It wasn’t until the better part of half an hour that she caught herself nearly humming as she enjoyed the heat of the water.

She blushed shyly, her eyes popping open.

Her heart dropped.

_Right._

In the haze of her self-pampering, Allura had almost forgotten where, precisely, she was.  Her eyes flashed quickly around the room and found the door still closed and her belongings undisturbed.

Reluctantly, she shut the water off, grasping for the dark, fluffed towel nearby, drawing it around her body self-consciously.  She dried off before padding barefoot across the floor, scooping up the bag that housed all the belongings she dared bring with her.

After rummaging around, she withdrew a second set of workpants and a cotton top before stuffing the dirtied ones back.

She exhaled once to steel her nerves before palming open the door.

Wildfire serpentine eyes flashed her way and Allura swallowed.

She dropped her hands to her sides, allowing the towel in her hair to fall limply over her shoulders.

“Better?”

She nodded in answer to his question.

A few strides brought her warily outside the bathing area and she allowed the bag to slide off her shoulder, dropping onto the ground near the wall.

“What are you looking at?”

His expression courted her face before looking back to the large parchment spread before him on the table.

“A map of the lazon mine,” he replied after a moment.

“You have a map?!”

He inhaled sharply at her sudden excitement and the princess quickly abandoned her wariness as she bounded to his side, eagerly peering over the schematic before him.

“I was just in that earlier today,” she explained breathlessly, her inquisitive eyes scouring the diagram.  “Stars above us, there are so many tunnels I didn’t see!”

“You were in the lazon mine?”

Allura grew still at his incredulous tone and glanced up at him, arching an eyebrow delicately.

“I was.  Why?”

“How many guardsmen did you take with you?”

“I…”  She blinked, her expression softening.  “I went alone.”

She turned her focus back on the map laid across the table before her, missing the paling of his stunned features.

“But look at how much more I missed!  I simply must go back tomorrow – perhaps I can even find the Kyrie I heard in the marketplace.”

Allura scowled as the man choked beside her.

“Allura – you.” He paused, burying his face in both his palms as he struggled to process the enigmatic woman before him.  “You went into the mine alone?”

“Yes, why is that difficult?”

A low rumble emitted from his chest.

“Do you know how dangerous that is?”

A strange silence fell between them as the disguised princess tilted her head to the side.

“I’m standing in the bedchambers of the Crown Prince of Doom.  …I’m not sure how much more danger I could put myself in,” she replied calmly.

A low oath left his lips.

“You crossed paths with a Kyrie in the marketplace?”

A brilliant, feverish light glinted in her eyes as her lips curled up in a near-malicious display.

“Incidentally, yes.   _Someone_ was speaking the language, and I had found a suitable place to eavesdrop and perhaps learn something.”

“And?”

“…And then _someone_ showed up with all his robot guards, and I lost the trail at that point.”

Golden eyes narrowed in response.

“When you return to the mine, I’ll go with you.”

Allura scowled.

“I do not need your permission nor your protection, Prince Lotor,” she replied tartly, turning away from the war table.

Her bare feet moved silently across the floor as she walked toward where her bag had settled in a corner.  Wordlessly, she knelt to the ground beside it.

“What in the hells beneath are you doing.”

He didn’t ask a question; he had bade a command.

Allura curled her arms around the accessory, drawing it bodily close, curling about as she rested her head upon it.

“Getting some sleep.  I doubt you’re going to let me walk out that door,” she replied without looking over her shoulder at him.

“…Allura.”

Her back stiffened as she felt the frustration roll off him in waves.  For what purpose, she could not fathom.

“What.”

“No, never mind, this isn’t a discussion.”

Allura blinked, rolling onto her back as the sound of footsteps echoed across the floor.  Her startled yelp of confusion ended in a curse as he lifted her up with no preamble and deposited her on the bed.

The Arusian skittered across the soft surface, ready to leap from the foot of the bed.

“Enough,” he commanded, frustrated with her antics.  “You need rest.”

“Not in the same bed as you,” she hissed, scandalized, her back pressed to the wall.

“And why not?  Does my honor mean nothing when there isn’t a wall between us?”

Allura’s eyes widened.

Guilt flared across her skin once more.  He _had_ kept his word about the bathing arrangement, after all.

Defiantly, she plucked up a pillow and dropped it in the center of the bed and glared at him in response. His eyes flickered from her, to it, and back again before he nodded once in agreement.

Allura’s own gaze widened at his acquiescence to her terms as the man peeled off his boots and shut off the lights. Lotor eased himself down into the comforter, staying diligently on his own side of the mattress.

“Rest,” he murmured, an irritable rumble vibrating from the back of his throat as he closed his eyes.

“What… what are you doing?”

Near-iridescent eyes flashed to hers as they snapped open.

“Allura.  If anyone comes through that door, they will also have to come through me to get to you.  Where you are, right now, is the safest place you could be.  Not in some attic. Not on the floor.  Now, _sleep_.”

She drew her knees to her chest, watching him unfold his body into the softness beneath him, his head resting against the down pillow as his moonlight hair flared behind him.

With one last, frustrated look, he tilted his aristocratic profile back to the ceiling and allowed his eyelids to drape closed once more.

His fingers laced across his abdomen and his breathing slowed to a cadence more akin to deep rest in a matter of minutes.

Allura cautiously untucked her legs from her chest and slowly, deftly edged toward the foot of the bed.

As her weight shifted against the mattress, a growl rumbled in warning from his chest once more, stilling her flight.  As he quieted, she attempted to continue her escape when his eyes opened and he pinned her with a lazy, frustrated look.

“Allura.”

The princess bit down on her bottom lip, appearing properly chagrined at being caught.

He studied her a moment before trying a different route to ease the woman’s fears.

“Come now, if I can trust you not to put a blade through my heart as I rest beside you, can you not trust me in return?”

A strange heat settled in her chest as the flush of guilt returned to her.  After all he had done - all he had promised, he _had_ made good on his word.

A nervous whine emanated from her as she warily crawled toward the head of the bed.

His eyes tracked her movement with an eerie intensity, but his body did not flinch in the slightest.  Allura never took her eyes off his as she settled her hip into the plush surface.  At the very last second, she turned away, settling her shoulder in as well, her head touching her own pillow, back to the warlord.

The princess’s hands curled into her chest and her knees tucked defensively.  Her heart hammered in her ribcage and a nervous sweat broke out across her brow and shoulders, but the powerful man remained dormant beside her.

The only sound beyond his breathing was a grunt of approval.

“Good.”

She could _feel_ the way Lotor’s body finally untensed, relaxing into the bed at last.  As he surrendered to the slumber, Allura couldn’t help as her own wariness waned.

“I like your eyes better without the lenses,” he muttered softly, just as Allura began to drift off.  A blush touched her cheeks as her fatigue won out over her nerves.


End file.
